Cleaning—The Complete Story

I made an offhand comment to a gunsmith friend not long ago, saying I was surprised to find he was so busy cleaning guns. Folks should be able to clean their own guns! But then, I don’t do the pet’s hair and nails myself and I sometimes have the car detailed. I let those experienced in the field do their job. My friend has considerable investment in ultrasonic cleaners and makes money every week cleaning guns.

Not to mention all the dirty guns that come in for repair and really need to be thoroughly cleaned before repair work can begin. A good cleaning is an ideal first step for every repair and it may be the fix. Sometimes a good cleaning frees a stuck sear and reduces other malfunctions. A fast rule I’ve used for many years has been to clean it first. From the typical gummed up .22 caliber rifle to a stuck sear in a High Standard revolver, a simple cleaning often cures complaints.

Within the week I cleaned and lubed a Glock and the result was a much better trigger action. I also carefully cleaned a Savage 29B rifle, which I admit was a joy and a privilege. Far Folks buy guns to shoot, not to clean. Some firearms do better than others without cleaning. A Ruger 10/22 will function far longer than a 1950s era self-loading .22 rimfire without cleaning but it is abuse to fail to clean the firearm until it malfunctions. All of us have different standards of clean. I have no military experience.

My son is a Major in the National Guard and his idea of clean is way above most—I would not wish to endure one of his inspections! Although, I have when he opened my gun safe… When I worked industrial security my friend Leo and I sometimes discussed cleaning. Some among his crew didn’t really know how to clean effectively and the same goes for many gun owners. Gunsmiths don’t often receive carefully cared for

firearms that receive a lot of routine maintenance. We get basket cases of solidified oil and gunk. I call it a "hard varnish" even if that may not be chemically correct, however, that descriptor certainly suits the looks of a neglected gun. A well maintained firearm functions as designed and certainly holds it value. But quite a lot of our customers, well, are keeping us in business without resorting to hard learned gunsmithing when a routine cleaning solves the problem.

Ultrasonic cleaners are good and can be a wise investment. But I don’t have one. I use hot water, a pick, and hard brushing. It’s worth noting that ultrasonic cleaners can sometimes remove coating. Not good quality blue or chrome but they will remove Bar-B-Que grill paint or similar high heat paint pretty easy. A degreaser with phosphoric acid can be rough on a finish. Don’t purchase your supplies at Walmart but use Brownells for gun-specific uses and you will prosper.

I hate to have to mention it but never use kerosene or gasoline to clean guns. Not to insult your intelligence, but it’s certainly possible your customers may use this stuff. I still see this every year. I think that dirty as a dirt road is the lowest order of clean at which a firearm still functions. Next up is the guy who shoots it and then wipes it off afterward. He may spray the gun with some type of aerosol cleaner, letting the grit get sloshed around and simply settled somewhere other than where it was.

Next is clean and functional. The barrel is free of lead and copper deposits, the action may have a film of powder ash on the moving parts but there is no powder ash and debris in large quantity. The bearing surfaces are lubed. This is what is needed for personal defense and hunting. Such a level of maintenance gets the gun ready to go.

Another step up, usually reserved for storage, is to disassemble completely and then carefully soak and clean every piece of the firearm with the moving parts packed Far with a preservative grease. Finally, white glove clean, which is rumored to exist in the U. S. military. I have never experienced this clean and probably will not except possibly in my son’s gun safe. Cleaning by Type The procedures needed in cleaning firearms are different for each type and special concerns exist for each.

Revolvers will malfunction and it isn’t always easy to catch. Revolvers suffer from excess leading in the barrel and forcing cone. Simple old elbow grease and a lead removal tool are needed. As an example, when I worked at a city police department decades ago more than one Model 19 or Model 66 357 Magnum suffered a cracked forcing cone. That agency used the softest lead bullet they could get away with in the training load, a 148 grain wadcutter at 750 feet per second loaded on a Star loading machine.

Cleaning the barrel just a little wasn’t enough. Fire a few 357 Magnum 125 grain jacketed hollow points at 1400 fps with a forcing cone that is obstructed and you may crack it. I have seen two. Years later I also saw an Astra double action revolver with a cracked forcing cone. It may have been due to the steel in the latter case as the bore wasn’t overly leaded. So, be certain the bore is carefully cleaned and free of lead.